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August 2013

August 31, 2013

ARLINGTON
– Leonys Martin pointed to the dugout and raced towards first base with his
teammates charging out.

His two-out single in the ninth drove in the game-winning
run and lifted the Texas Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday
night.

It was the sixth walk-off victory for the Rangers this season,
two of them coming on hits by Martin. He homered to end a game against the
Angels on July 30.

The Rangers have now won eight of their last 10 to maintain
at least a two-game lead over the A’s in the American League West, and finished
August with a 20-7 record, the franchise’s fourth month with at least 20 wins and
first since May 2009.

With the game tied 1-1 going into the ninth, Twins lefty Caleb
Thielbar got A.J. Pierzynski to pop out but gave up a double to left to Alex
Rios.

The Twins then intentionally walked pinch-hitter Jeff Baker
to get to Jurickson Profar, who flew out to center but advanced Rios to third.
That brought up pinch-hitter Craig Gentry, who drew a walk against right-hander
Josh Roenicke to load the bases.

The Twins made another pitching change to get the
lefty-lefty matchup against Martin by bringing in lefty Brian Duensing. It didn’t
pay off, though, when Martin lined a single up the middle to score Rios.

Rangers starter Matt Garza didn’t get off to a promising
start. He gave up a leadoff home run to Brian Dozier to start the game, and
then walked Chris Herrmann on five pitches. But Garza got two quick outs by
striking out Josh Willingham and Pierzynski throwing out Herrmann trying
to steal second.

Garza ended the inning by striking out Ryan Doumit. He
worked around a two-out single in the second, and a bunt single in the fifth.
The only trouble real trouble he ran into again came in the seventh.

Garza walked Doumit to start the inning, and issued another
free pass to Chris Colabello with one out. He got out of it, though, by getting
Clete Thomas to fly out and Darin Mastroianni to strike out in what became a
30-pitch inning.

It was Garza’s best start since his debut with the Rangers
on July 24 when he held the Yankees to an unearned run over 7 1/3 innings.

Garza allowed only the leadoff homer over seven strong innings,
while striking out nine. He didn’t get the win, however, as the offense didn’t
come to life until late in the game.

The Rangers tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first.
Elvis Andrus had a one-out single, and moved to third on a single by Ian
Kinsler. Andrus came up limping on the play and left with lower back tightness.

Andrus is listed as day-to-day and the team doesn’t believe
the injury is serious. Adam Rosales pinch-ran for Andrus at third, and scored
on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Beltre.

August 30, 2013

ARLINGTON
– Chris Herrmann has joined Marwin Gonzalez and Carlos Corporan as players who
spoiled no-hit bids by Yu Darvish this season.

Darvish flirted with a no-hitter once again, but couldn’t
close it out once again. This time, though, he didn’t even get the win. In
fact, he took the loss after giving up a pair of home runs in the seventh
inning as the Texas Rangers fell 3-2 to the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

The Rangers lost for only the third time in the last 10
games, but it came against a team that was 18 games under .500, whose best
batter in the lineup had a .259 average and whose starter had a career record of
1-12 with a 5.79 ERA.

Darvish carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, dominating
along the way. He had faced the minimum through six innings, issuing only a
leadoff walk in the second inning but erasing that by inducing a double-play
grounder in the next at-bat.

Darvish had 10 strikeouts through six, including five
straight. He got Trevor Plouffe to whiff well ahead of a slow curve to end the
fifth, and then struck out the side in the sixth.

But he walked Brian Dozier on five pitches to start the
seventh, and then left a 2-0 cutter in the zone that Herrmann sent over the
right-field fence to tie the game at 2-2.

The next batter, Justin Morneau who had a lineup-best .259
average, sent a hanging breaking pitch over the right-field fence to give the
Twins a 3-2 lead, something their bullpen didn’t surrender.

The tide had turned rather quickly on Darvish and the Rangers.

The offense managed only two runs in six innings against
Twins right-hander Liam Hendriks. Jurickson Profar had a solo shot in the
third, and Ian Kinsler scored in the fourth on a groundout by A.J. Pierzynski.

After the Twins had taken a 3-2 lead, the Rangers had a
chance to tie it in the seventh. Pinch-hitter Craig Gentry had a one-out triple
off Brian Duensing, but Leonys Martin and Elvis Andrus each grounded out to end
the threat.

The Rangers went down in order the final two innings against
Twins relievers Jared Burton and Glen Perkins.

Nelson Cruz spoke for the first time Friday afternoon since accepting a 50-game suspension for his ties in the Biogenesis of America scandal.

The Texas Rangers slugger worked out at The Ballpark in Arlington and took early batting practice, but had to leave when the gates opened at 4:30 p.m.

Cruz, who received banned substances from the South Florida-based anti-aging clinic, took about one minute to make his statement, and did not take any questions.

"I had to apologize to the fans, to the Texas Rangers organization and all Major League Baseball for the mistake that I made," Cruz said. "I apologize to my family and friends that believe in me. It's been a really tough few weeks. I have good friends and good family. They've been behind me. They give me the support I need to stand against you guys.

"Hopefully the team goes to the playoffs and gives me a chance to help them out. I'm going to be here for a few days and go to Arizona. That's the plan. Hopefully we go to the playoffs and I'll be ready."

Cruz is expected to head to the Rangers' facility in Surprise, Ariz. late next week, and intends to play in instructional-league games which begin on Sept. 18.

General manager Jon Daniels said the team is open to adding Cruz to a postseason roster, but stressed that they aren't taking a playoff berth for granted.

Cruz was leading the team in RBIs and home runs at the time of his suspension on Aug. 5. He has played well in the postseason, too, with his memorable performance in the 2011 American League Championship Series against Detroit when he was named the series' MVP.

August 28, 2013

SEATTLE — Leonys Martin hit a three-run homer and drove in a career-high four runs Wednesday, and the Rangers rocked Felix Hernandez for nine runs in three-plus innings en route to a 12-4 rout and a three-game sweep of Seattle.

The win ensures that the Rangers will have at least a 2 ½-game lead in the American League West over Oakland. The margin would jump to 3 ½ games if the A’s were to lose later Wednesday at Detroit.

Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland added homers off Brandon Maurer. Beltre’s blast came on Maurer’s second pitch, and Moreland’s shot to start the seventh gave him the first 20-homer season of his career.

Martin Perez allowed two runs in six innings to earn his eighth victory, which leads all American League rookies. He won for the fifth time in August, tops in the AL, and beat his boyhood idle, Hernandez, for the second time in 12 days.

Hernandez escaped the first inning despite allowing singles to Ian Kinsler and Beltre, but he couldn’t get out of the second. Martin got him with two outs on a long drive to left-center field for a 3-0 lead.

Soto delivered the big two-out hit in the third after Moreland had struck out with runners at second and third. Soto, playing for the second time on the road trip, hit a liner to left field that Raul Ibanez short-hopped to allow Kinsler and Alex Rios to score.

The Rangers started the fourth with four straight hits, a double by Jurickson Profar, an RBI single by Martin, an RBI double by Elvis Andrus and an RBI single by Kinsler.

Hernandez was done, but the Rangers weren’t. Beltre launched the second pitch from Brandon Maurer into the Rangers’ bullpen for a 10-0 lead, nine of which were charged to the 2010 American League Cy Young winner.

The Rangers had no problem with Hernandez this season. He went 0-5 in five starts with a 7.57 ERA (23 earned runs in 27 1/3 innings), and his 20 career losses to the Rangers are the most of any pitcher all time.

Eight of the nine Rangers starters had a hit, and eight of the nine scored a run. Andrus and Beltre had three hits apiece, and Martin was one of five with two hits each.

Perez didn’t allow a hit until Kyle Seager singled with one out in the fourth. The Mariners got four more hits against Perez, including solo homers by Dustin Ackley and Seager, but he coasted to his eighth victory since June 22.

Manager Ron Washington picked another prime opportunity to get A.J. Pierzynski a day off Wednesday. Not only are the Rangers playing a day game after a night game, but they are off Thursday. Pierzynski will get two days off while missing only one game ahead of a three-game series against Minnesota this weekend. Adrian Beltre also catches a bit of a break as the Rangers' designated hitter.

SEATTLE — Ian Kinsler scored the go-ahead run with two outs in the 10th inning Tuesday night on a balk against Danny Farquhar, and the Rangers eked out a 4-3 victory over Seattle.

The win allowed the Rangers to maintain their 2 ½-game lead in the American League West over Oakland, which won a rain-shortened game at Detroit.

The Rangers improved to 3-7 in extra innings, but needed some help from plate ump C.B. Bucknor after they thought he initially had cost them to start the 10th.

Elvis Andrus appeared to have reached to open the inning as the throw to first by Farquhar hit him as he legged out an infield hit. But Bucknor ruled that Andrus interfered with the throw even though replays showed his foot to be on the base line.

Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre followed with singles, and Kinsler stole third easily as Farquhar didn’t hold him closely. Farquhar, though, got A.J. Pierzynski to pop out and appeared to be headed toward an escape when Bucknor hit him with a balk with Alex Rios batting.

Kinsler walked home with the go-ahead run, and Joe Nathan pitched around a one-out single by Kyle Seager and a two-out walk to Justin Smoak for his 38th save.

Derek Holland struggled from the outset, walking two of the first three batters before issuing an RBI double to Kendrys Morales. Smoak followed with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead and the first two earned runs against Holland in his career at Safeco Field.

The Rangers, though, responded a three-run second against Hisashi Iwakuma. Four straight batters reached with one out, a stretch that started with a double by Alex Rios off the wall in left-center field.

He came around as the next batter, Mitch Moreland, singled to left. Jurickson Profar then walked, and Moreland scored on a single to right by David Murphy.

After Leonys Martin, playing for the first time since Saturday, flied out, Andrus blooped a single to right to score Profar for a 3-2 lead.

Holland worked a wobbly but scoreless second inning, but Franklin Gutierrez started the third with a homer to center field.

Holland yielded a leadoff single in the fourth, but retired eight straight before back-to-back two-out singles in the sixth. Humberto Quintero, though, struck out to end the threat.

The Rangers managed only a pair of singles the next five innings, both off Iwakuma, and quickly saw their eighth inning fizzle after Ian Kinsler opened with an infield hit and Beltre was hit by a Yoervis Medina pitch.

A.J. Pierzynski popped out on the next pitch, and Rios bounced into an inning-ending double play.

The Mariners blew a chance to win it in the ninth. Michael Saunders started the inning with a single off Neal Cotts, and Dustin Ackley followed by popping up a bunt on the next pitch.

But Cotts charged initially and saw the ball sail over his head for a hit that left Mariners at first and second with no outs.

Tanner Scheppers entered, and got Humberto Quintero to pop up another bunt. Mitch Moreland caught this one for the first out, and Scheppers struck out pinch hitter Nick Franklin and rookie Brad Miller.